Fluoropolymer resins, and especially perfluoropolymer resins, are known for their low surface energy and antistick properties and thermal and chemical resistance. These copolymers do not stick to other materials, especially dissimilar materials, with any practical degree of bond strength.
Some high temperature resistant thermoplastics (HTRP), such as polyamide imide, polyarylene sulfide and polyether sulfone, have found use as adhesion promoters in fluoropolymer coating formulations. See, for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,961 (Tannenbaum) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,403 (Rau et al.). While liquid crystal polymers (LCP) have been included in HTRP groupings for other purposes, LCP are not known as adhesion promoters. While LCP can exhibit some adhesion to metal in the neat (undiluted) state, such adhesion is much less than exhibited by the recognized HTRP adhesion promoters.
There remains a need for melt-flowable fluoropolymer with improved adhesion to dissimilar materials but which substantially retains the thermal and chemical resistance of fluoropolymer.